underthedomefandomcom-20200223-history
Black Ice
Black Ice is the eleventh episode of Season 2 of CBS' Under the Dome, which aired on September 8, 2014. It is the twenty-fourth episode overall. Summary When temperatures begin to plunge, Sam and Rebecca spring into action to try to save the residents of Chester's Mill. Meanwhile, Barbie risks his own life in order to save Julia after a terrible accident. Synopsis In Zenith, Don's team examines the egg that has appeared in the middle of the playground. When a scientist picks it up using a pair of tongs, the egg turns white and rings, and then releases a burst of energy blasting the scientist back. Junior and Sam drive Melanie into town after she collapses. Rebecca talks to them over the radio, warning them that the ceiling is unsafe after the earthquake and they're setting up a triage center at the high school. Big Jim takes Pauline to the high school and reminds her that the egg's shrieking was hurting her. His wife assures him that he could have handled it, but Big Jim insists that he did the right thing. Pauline has her husband take her to the locker, just as Barbie and Julia emerge. They remind Big Jim that he forced Norrie and Joe to the cliff at gunpoint, and Big Jim points out that they could have revealed the existence of the escape route a week ago when they first found it. Barbie tells him that dropping the egg closed the passage and Phil is dead, and a shocked Big Jim insists that he did it for the townspeople and for his wife. Rebecca comes over and Pauline recognizes her from when she lived in Chester's Mill before she faked her death. The science teacher tells them that the earthquake caused numerous injuries and gets Pauline and Julia to help her hang out blankets as the temperature drops. Joe and Norrie walk with Hunter to the edge of the Dome, worried about what will happen now that they have lost the egg. They discover that the Dome wall has frozen over and that it is revolving. Joe touches it and his hand freezes to the surface. Hunter and Norrie pull Joe's hand free and watch as the Dome revolves, Joe's leftover bloody handprint disappearing down into the ground. At the high school, Junior sits with Melanie as Joe and Norrie return. They explain what is happening to the Dome and worry that they caused it, and Barbie assures them that it was Jim that forced them to drop the egg off of the cliff. Rebecca suggests that the Dome's rotation is pulling the cold air out of the upper atmosphere, causing the temperature drop. Big Jim talks to Pauline privately and says that he tried to help her and Junior escape, but she tells her husband that he's only interested in being the hero, as he always does. He jealously wonders if she loves Lyle, and Pauline says that it isn't about 'love' or even Lyle. But now she's lost her visions and they've lost Lyle though the Dome needs him, then admits that she only claimed she wanted to be a family again to keep Big Jim from interfering with her plan to get Junior out of the Dome. Disgusted, Pauline says that it's Big Jim's 'big love' for her that has trapped them and furiously walks out. Rebecca and Julia siphon gas into Julia's Prius and the science teacher admits that she doesn't know if they can stop the Dome from inverting the atmosphere. They only have two generators and are low on food, and Julia goes to find Barbie so that they can move the remaining food from the diner to somewhere safe from the cold. Rebecca wonders if Barbie is okay and Julia assures her that he's fine. Inside, Melanie wakes up and Junior tries to assure her. Pauline comes over and asks to sit with her friend alone. Once her son leaves, Melanie reminds Pauline that she left her for dead 25 years ago, and Pauline apologizes for going along with Lyle and Sam and that she's felt guilt and regret ever since. The girl smiles and admits that she's missed Pauline. As Barbie and Julia take the ambulance to the diner, Barbie worries that even if they somehow survive the dropping temperatures, half the town will still probably die from hypothermia. The cold snap will kill the crops and they will only have another food for another few months. Julia is sure they'll find a way to survive, but Julia says that he came back to save her and now there's no way out. The gurney in the back comes loose and Julia goes back to fasten it down, just as the ambulance slips on some black ice and slips out of control, flipping over. Barbie desperately makes his way to the back to check on Julia. He discovers that a metal rod has impaled her leg and that he can't remove it without her bleeding to death. The radio was broken in the crash and Barbie warns that with the freezing temperatures outside, all they can do is wait until someone realizes that they're missing and comes looking for them. Big Jim asks Junior to talk to Pauline and bring her to his point of view. Junior refuses, saying that he knew a week ago that Pauline was alive but hid the knowledge from him because she asked him to. When Big Jim confirms that the earthquake started at the same time he knocked the egg over the cliff, Junior realizes that Melanie had her attack at the same time and it's connected to the egg. Rebecca warns Joe and Norrie that they will have to crank up the heat. Hunter staggers in from outside and they realize that his hands are frostbitten. Rebecca leads him away to treat him while down the hall, Melanie asks Pauline why she came back to Chester's Mill. Pauline says that she finally realized that she was running from what she and the others did to Melanie 25 years ago, and she's come back to do what they should have done then. She promises to stay with Melanie and never leave her again, just as Melanie goes into convulsions and passes out. Sam and Junior run over as Melanie passes out, and Junior figures that someone is doing something to the egg, and it's affecting Melanie. As the sun sets, Barbie drops road flares on the roads and comes back into the ambulance. The engine runs out of gas and Julia tells Barbie to go to the diner and get hope. He refuses to abandon Julia and finds a jar of petroleum jelly and fashions a makeshift candle, and starts sealing the windows. Joe and Norrie talk to Hunter, who claims that he got lost after they left him earlier. He wonders why the Dome doesn't move if the egg powers it and they moved the egg, and Joe says that it's technology beyond their understanding. He wonders why Hunter is asking so many questions and the hacker says that he's just a curious sort. Tom brings in his wife and says that he dozed off as they tried to keep a fire going, and found her unconscious when he woke up. Sam tries to revive her without success just as the power goes out, and Rebecca warns that they've just ran out of fuel. She gets everybody together in the workshop and the gymnasium to generate body heat, and Big Jim tells her that he'll go out and find gas for the generators. After he seals the windows, Barbie lights the candle for heat and huddles with Julia to share his body heat. Julia wonders if Barbie is losing hope and he reminds her that he had a way out but that it's gone. Julia assures him that they'll make the best of it together. Just as they settle into a huddle the glass in the window just above them first creaks, then shatters from the cold. Barbie uses the blanket to shield them as the glass particles rains down on them. At the high school, Junior warns Pauline that Melanie can't survive another attack. Norrie thinks of something and walks out, and Joe asks Hunter to check on her. Once Hunter leaves, Joe checks the hacker's computer and confirms that Hunter is sending emails to Don saying that he's close to finding the egg. There are also a series of messages on Hunter's notepad, showing that he's been communicating with the mercenaries outside of the Dome. Julia tells Barbie to leave her but he refuses to abandon her. He admits that he doesn't know how to save her, but then realizes that the cold is slowing down her heart rate. Barbie tells Julia that once she goes into hypothermia, he can safely pull out the rod and carry her to the diner, and then bring her out of her unconscious state. Big Jim goes to the docks and radios in to Rebecca. Once he signs off, he hears Lyle splashing around in the lake. Lyle calls for help and after a moment, Big Jim reluctantly throws him a line and pulls him in. Hunter finds Norrie sitting on the stairs. She blames herself for dropping the egg, and Hunter reminds her that Big Jim threatened her with a gun. He suggests that someone in Zenith might work out how to get the egg to work, and is intrigued when she says that only a few people can safely touch the egg and they're all trapped inside the Dome. Norrie says that it's nice to have Hunter there and goes back to the gym. Big Jim gets Lyle into the car, and the barber says that he had a vision of the near future. In it the world was on fire, consuming the world, and tells Big Jim to think about where he wants to be at the end of the world. Big Jim says that he doesn't have to consider it because he knows that he wants to be with his family. Barbie stays with Julia as she passes into hypothermia, and tells him that it's okay if he doesn't wake her up. He promises Julia that they'll always be together and have a life, and anything that she wants. Once she passes out, Barbie safely pulls the rod out of her leg and then carries her to the diner. Big Jim returns to the high school and has Sam take Lyle. He tells Rebecca that he found enough fuel to get them through the night and walks away. Barbie gets to the diner and lays Julia next to the stove. After some panic he finally manages to resuscitate her and makes sure that her injury is patched up, then hugs her and says that she'll be okay. The next morning, the sun comes out and the temperature has thankfully risen again. Rebecca checks the barometer and realizes that the pressure is too high. Hunter slips away and Norrie and Joe go after him. Pauline finds Big Jim looking at the trophy case and he talks about how he didn't score the touchdown that he once boasted about in the big game. She wonders why he saved Lyle, and Big Jim says that he did it because Pauline said that she needs him, he did it for her. He assures Pauline that he cares about her and though he admits he wasn't always the best husband or father, he says it wasn't through lack of care or trying, that everything he's done was to protect the people he loves. Pauline hesitates and then says that she liked watching him at the games whether he scored touchdowns or not, and walks away. Joe and Norrie arrive at the Dome and see Hunter at the edge, meeting with Malick at the Dome wall. Once the two men exchange notes, Malick and his men drive off and Joe and Norrie confront Hunter for betraying them. He denies it then shows them the notes he wrote for Malick so they can see for themselves what he was communicating to them. He advised them to stop examining the egg because it could destroy Zenith and is hurting people within the Dome. Hunter explains that he hates the people he's working for but that his boss Don blackmailed him into it and was sent to monitor the egg. However, he doesn't want Melanie to die and was trying to help not betray them. As they talk, the Dome suddenly emits a loud whining noise. At the diner, Barbie and Julia are coming out when they hear the Dome's new noise and wonder what's going on. To the sound Melanie suddenly wakes up and utters : "it's starting"... Once the noise stops, Norrie touches the dome and realizes that the Dome has stopped revolving. Joe and Hunter also place their hands on the Dome (and Hunter is not expelled back for some reason). Just as they think they're back to safety, suddenly the Dome starts moving toward her and the others with a massive grinding noise, and they realize that it's started contracting, moving inwards, and may very well not stop until it has crushed them. Credits Main Cast *Mike Vogel as Dale "Barbie" Barbara *Rachelle Lefevre as Julia Shumway *Alexander Koch as James "Junior" Rennie *Eddie Cahill as Sam Verdreaux *Colin Ford as Joseph "Joe" McAlister *MacKenzie Lintz as Eleanor "Norrie" Calvert-Hill *Karla Crome as Rebecca Pine *Dean Norris as James "Big Jim" Rennie Supporting Cast Guest Stars *Grace Victoria Cox as Melanie Cross *Max Ehrich as Hunter May *Sherry Stringfield as Pauline Rennie *Dwight Yoakam as Lyle Chumley Co-Stars *Estes Tarver as Tom Tilden *Mike Whaley as Malick Uncredited *David Pascua as Townsperson *Caroline Kahn as Townsperson *Amber Dawn Fox as Townsperson *Bailey Ingersoll as Townsperson *Tim Greene as Townsperson *Unknown as Beth Tilden Deaths *Beth Tilden *At least two unnamed Chester's Mill citizens. Trivia *First and last appearance of Beth Tilden. *The title refers to the Dome freezing over. **The words "Black Ice" refer to a thin coating of glazed ice on a surface. While not truly black, it is virtually transparent, allowing black asphalt/macadam roadways or the surface below to be seen through it—hence the term "black ice". **This could also refer to the ambulance slipping on black ice. *Lyle resurfaces, confirming that he did enter into the vortex, and is rescued by Big Jim. *It is revealed that Melanie and the egg are connected. Category:Episodes Category:Season 2